Hey No-Meat Athletes! It's Christine, back with another healthy dessert recipe! For this Sweet-Tooth Friday I made a batch of vegan black bean brownies. I'm going to cut to the chase- for me this recipe is hands-down the best Sweet Tooth Friday yet! They're even better than regular brownies! If you haven't tried any of my recipes yet, drop what you're doing and get baking!
![[black bean brownies with can photo]](http://www.nomeatathlete.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/black-bean-brownies-with-can-photo-300x200.jpg "[black bean brownies with can photo]")
I adapted this recipe from a King Arthur Flour recipe. I made a few changes like using whole wheat flour, raw sugar, and more coffee. Instead of adding chocolate chips (which add more sugar) I decided to use hazelnuts instead. The hazelnuts add a seriously fabulous "nutella"-like flair.
In my research on black bean brownies, I came across a nice tip on foodfit.com. Someone mentioned there that it was a good idea to wash the salty can liquid off the beans, then return the beans to the can and fill with fresh clean water. This is what I did with great success. However, I'm not sure if this would be different with a pre-packaged mix, but when I mixed the pureed beans and water with the dry ingredients, there was not nearly enough liquid to make a batter. I ended up adding another cup of water to get it to the right consistency.
Without further ado, I give you my Hazelnut Mocha Brownies:
Vegan Black Bean Brownie Recipe
For the Mix:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups raw sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa
4 tsp instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnutsYou also need:
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and filled with new water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of water (eyeball it by filling up half the empty can)Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the flour with the salt and baking powder. For a nice layered presentation in a jar start with half the sugar, then add half the flour mixture, all the cocoa, the coffee powder, the remaining flour, the remaining sugar, and the nuts on top. When ready to bake, dump out the jar into a mixing bowl and stir to combine all the dry ingredients.
Drain a can of black beans and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. Return the black beans back to the can and fill with water. Puree the beans and water. Add the puree to the dry mix along with the vanilla and extra cup of water. Stir to combine.
Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through. When the brownies are finished they should be firm in the center and the edges will be slightly puffy and starting to pull away from the sides. My batch was finished at 28 minutes. It's important not to overbake in the oven because they will keep baking once you take them out.
Let brownies cool completely then use a 2×2 in cookie cutter to cut into 24 squares.
![[black bean brownie ingredients photo]](http://www.nomeatathlete.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/black-bean-brownie-ingredients-photo-300x200.jpg "[black bean brownie ingredients photo]")
![[black bean brownies photo]](http://www.nomeatathlete.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/black-bean-brownies-photo-1024x682.jpg "[black bean brownies photo]")
I don't think I can accurately express over the internet how freakin awesome these brownies are! I said it before and I'll say it again: these are better than ANY brownie I've had, including the ones laden with tons of butter and eggs. It's time to put your bean prejudices aside and give this recipe a try!
Happy Sweet-Tooth Friday!
xoxo, Christine
P.S.- Check out the rest of my sneakily-healthy desserts, including vegan pumpkin bread and vegan gingerbread cookies with Guinness!
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i've seen black bean brownies, and now i have the perfect recipe to try! you are seriously queen of healthy baking!
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I have also seen these brownies, but never tried! Thanks for the recipe. If you have leftovers and want to overnight them to Brooklyn just let me know
Have a great Friday!
Mel @ She Runs Brooklyn´s last blog ..Angry Run = Mission Complete
I've never made black bean brownies but I think the time has come. Thanks for the recipe!
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owwww I really want to try these! What a fun recipe
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These look amazing! I will probably make them and NOT tell my boyfriend what the secret ingredient is. Hooray for fiber and protein packed brownies!
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Thank's so much for your time and effort in figuring this one out for us. I am supper excited to makes these as I am madly in love with beans at the moment. I wonder what other things you can do with beans that are not the everyday. I never thought or heard of using them in baked goods. yum!
Thanks Hethir! I've posted some other dessert recipes using beans. Most beans actually have a pretty neutral taste, making them perfect for baked goods! After you give these brownies a whirl, check out my recipe for Energy bars made with Great Northern beans.
I can't wait to try and make these!!!
I've also heard of black bean brownies but have never made them. Your pictures look great- I'm definitely going to give this a try!
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thanks for the recipe, i am definitely going to try these!
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Its like you read minds (well, sort of). I made cookies last night — healthy cookies — and Bryan was telling me how we should make cookies with beans (I'm sure you understand my obsession with adzuki beans by now). So, why not brownies with beans?
Looks FANTASTIC!
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I might make these for my co-workers and see if they notice a difference…
Wow! What a great recipe! I would love to try these!
Hey- sorry if you've mentioned this before, but where do ya'll live?
Erica´s last blog ..Vegetables with Peanut Sauce, Pizza
Erica,
Erin and I live in Maryland, near Baltimore. Christine lives in Baltimore.
Everyone: Erin made these brownies last night and we really enjoyed them. I would have never guessed they had black beans in them!
I'm a big advocate of rinsing canned beans to get rid of excess sodium. The brownies look great! Haven't worked up the nerve yet to try black bean brownies… black beans and I don't really like each other all that much.
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Oh my gosh I am SO TRYING THESE! They look AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing Christine!
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You know, I never think of trial and error as failure. I've always learned something from it; something that made future attempts better. So, from a learning point-of-view, it is always a success.
Besides, you ended up with such scrumptious brownies. So, all's well that ends well!
Cheers!
I've never seen a brownie recipe with BEANS! How radical : )
Can't wait to try it out.
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i need to make these
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I made these this weekend and they are FANTASTIC! I even fed them to my dad who HATES beans, and he complimented them. They are super moist and tasty. I'll definitely be making them again. I think they would be good with walnuts instead of hazelnuts too! Thanks for the recipe!
I'm SO delighted that you tried them and liked them too!! Thanks Lauren!
I made these and they turned out great! I used almonds instead of hazelnuts because it was what I had. I've had black bean brownies before, but I must say this recipe was better. I love that they are vegan. My omnivore roommates thought they were tasty too!
Hey Hayley! I'm glad you liked them! Almonds sound like a nice swap. Thanks for trying it!
I'm making these now, and I realized after I put it in the oven that there's no oil in the recipe. Do these still turn out moist? If I wanted to use 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 water would it work?
Brendan, my sister is the baker, but I made these and they turned out moist, like regular brownies. We did overcook the edges just a bit, but the next time we made them we just watched it more carefully.
I'm not really sure about using half oil, maybe she'll answer that one for you!
Thanks so much for trying them out, I hope you let us know how it goes.
Hey Brendan,
It's not a mistake- there's no added fat in these brownies. They really are moist just from the beans! I've never tried the recipe with oil. It's not necessary, but I bet the recipe would still work if you did half oil and half water since you are subbing liquid for liquid. They'll most likely be a little greasy though.
I LOVE these brownies! My friend/roommate and I started a "candida diet" (no sugar, natural or refined… no wheat/gluten, no dairy) So.. there's not much we CAN eat. We're both sugar fiends and she found and made this AWESOME recipe!!! I am a sugar fiend and they fill my "need" totally naturally and healthily!
Though we make it a little differently… and you might want to try some of these substitutes….
Instead of sugar and cocoa powder… try Stevia or Agave – and carob chips!!!
We also skip the coffee and nuts… you can use ground flax seed to add in some healthy omegas to your "brownies" too. We also use coconut oil… but she's been the one making them and I don't know what the coconut oil substitutes… I know some recipes for this call for eggs/butter… and I think that's what it substitutes. But man, they are SOOOO Awesome! Worth experimenting and making different varieties to see what you like best.
I do recommend these alterations though, as they are indeed healthier!!!
Instead of sugar and cocoa powder… try Stevia or Agave – and carob chips!!! Instead of coffee, Ground flax seed. Instead of eggs/butter (in some recipes) coconut oil!!! TRY IT!!!
<3 Nurse Kelli =)
Hey Kelli, that's awesome that you like them! Where do you get carob chips; I've been wanting to try them in smoothies? Also, I'm a big coconut oil fan, so I bet that's great instead of butter in some recipes.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hey Kelli! That sounds really interested. I keep meaning to learn more about and experiment with stevia- it's all over the place these days! Do you use an alternative for the wheat flour, like rice or gram? Or does just the flax add enough binding for the beans?
Matt- I've seen carob chips and bulk carob powder at the Natural Market (David's) but I've never tried it. That's another on my list!
YUM!!! I just made these and took a little bit of a sneaky bite before they were totally cooled. I wanted to make something for my birthday tomorrow that I wouldn't feel too guilty about having leftovers lingering around.
THANKS for this recipe! It's definitely a keeper!
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I lOVE the brownies…I saw the recipie yesterday and could not wait to make them. I took mine out at about 28 minutes and they looked and felt pretty firm, but after cooling, they seemed to have more od a fudge-like texture…did I not cook them long enough? I was kind of worried that I had over-cooked them, the toothpick came out clean…Regardless, they are delicious and I loved the addition of the hazelnuts! I cut the sugar back to 2 cups and used 3/4 cup hazelnuts and 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Maybe next time I will cut the sugar even more and try carob chips. I am anxious to try your other recipies!
I made the brownies last night and totally love them! However, I agree with Tammy about cutting back the sugar some next time. As I didn't have any cocoa, I substituted 7 squares of chocolate, a couple of which were semi-sweetened, so I eliminated almost 1/2 cup of sugar, but I think I will go further next time.
I might also experiment with a pinch of cayenne pepper next time, to give it a bit of a bite.
I tried your pinto bean apple pie last week and it was absolutely awesome! It was my first time on your blog and I admit I was not a dessert person. But I am now! It's really great to find healthy desserts that consist of real food yet still satisfy that craving for a treat.
I will most definitely try that pinto bean brownie recipe on my guests next saturday. We'll just keep a window open
Thanks so much for sharing!!
I am really hanging to try this recipe, but I can't find canned black beans in any of the supermarkets here in Australia! I was wondering do you think cannellini beans would turn out the same?
I Love the STF recipes, I'm not an athlete but just a mum trying to find healthy ways to give my kids sweet treats instead of high fat junk. Thanks Christine these recipes are real gems!
Hey Tracey!
It's so so cool to hear that you are enjoying these recipes from across the world!
I think any canned bean should taste fine in these brownies- it may affect the color, but I imagine the cocoa will more or less cover it.
Thanks! Christine
Hi Christine!
I made these today with cannelline beans and they turned out awesome! My kids loved them but my fella wanted to know where the chocolate chunks where! Can't please everyone eh!
I just made these today and they are amazing! Because I'm impatient, I didn't wait for them to cool completely, but while they were still a tiny bit warm they were soooooooo moist and delicious. I made a few changes because of what I had on hand (omitted hazelnuts, used cooked dry black beans). Thanks so much for this recipe, they turned out great! I agree that they are better than the brownies I usually make with butter. I will definitely be making them again!
Hello! I just took the black bean brownies out of the oven and the whole house smells wonderful. I waited as long as I could for them to cool but took a piece when they were still warm. Very tasty! Can't believe there are no eggs or oil or butter in the recipe. Fantastic! Even the batter tasted delicious (had to lick my fingers). P.S. Maybe my oven is wonky but I had to leave them in for almost 40 minutes (checking constantly last 10 minutes).
Just made these brownies all I have to say is AWSOME. I love em
I just baked these and they are awesome! I need one of those cookie cutters now
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I can't wait to try these, but I only have Faba or Red Kidney beans (used up my last stash of Black beans on the patty recipe Matt posted recently)… would either of those be ok? Thanks in advance for your advice!
Hey Dasha,
I think any canned bean should taste fine in these brownies- it may affect the color, but I imagine the cocoa will more or less cover it.
Thanks!
Christine
Thanks for the response Christine!
I ended up going out and getting black beans cause I wanted to stay true to the original recipe. But I'll just use whatever I have for next time. Was tempted to substitute the sugar for agave like another poster recommended, but decided that taking out the eggs and butter was a good enough first step for me (still pretty new to the awesome world of vegan baking)!
Looking forward to next week's STF!
Dasha
I forgot to mention that they taste AMAZING! Thanks for sharing this one!
Is there anything to substitute for the coffee/will the recipe be affected if its not used? I totally want to try these but I'm not a coffee drinker at ALL.
Hey Leslie,
The coffee adds a richness and depth to the chocolate flavor, but it's not necessary. If you want, before adding the cup of water, you could brew it with chai tea or any kind of tea just to add another layer of flavor. Another option would be adding a tablespoon of creme de cacao or other liqueur.
If you just omit the coffee, it's no biggie- the brownies will still be yummy. Thanks for the question!
Christine
These are completely delicious!
I have made them twice. I used 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup chocolate chips instead of hazelnuts, and a cup of black coffee instead of the coffee powder and the water. Also, I only had brown sugar.
I cooked my own beans, measured out 2 cups and added water to the beans in the measuring cup, making sure that it stayed in the 2-cup range.
The first time I made them, I used all black beans, and the second time, I used a mix of white beans, red kidney beans, black beans, and chickpeas (about 1/2 cup of each).
Both times, DELICIOUS.
Thank you!!
These were so delicious! It's hard to stop eating them! I reduced the sugar to 2C just to see what would happen, and they were sweet enough for me. I also did not add the nuts since I like my brownies all fudge, no nuts.
Thanks for the recipe!
Oh!I made them GLUTEN FREE! I used 1/2C millet flour, 1/2C sorghum flour, 1/2C potato starch, and 1t xanthan gum. Awesome.
I just made your recipe and love it!! I wanted to experiment and used walnuts instead of the hazelnuts and raspberry jam for fun. LOVE IT!! Thanks for posting this!
OMG!! These are so freakin' awesome! Thank you for this!!
I just made these, but I had to do a couple of modifications. First, all I could find was Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder. I prefer dark chocolate, so it worked out well. It makes them almost black in color, but who cares. Then, I cut the sugar. 2-1/2 cups seemed like a lot. I did a little less than 2. Even with the dark cocoa powder, they taste great. Awesome recipe. I would have never thought of making brownies with beans. Now, if I can only get my wife to try them.
Made these just today! DELICIOUS!
And so easy to make!
I didn't have any nuts around the house so I used a bit of left over shredded coconut.
Thanks so much for this recipe!!
Can't wait to try more!
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OMG! This just looks awsome. I'm going to make them tomorow for the 4th of july party and see if anyone can tell the difference.
Thanks so much for the recipe,
Can't wait to eat it.
My wife and I made these tonight exactly as stated… I had them with mocha almond ice "cream" (made from coconut milk) and give them a big thumbs up. We're not going to tell the kids these have beans in them until the brownies are gone.
I have made these brownies twice now- they are so amazing! Thank you so so so much for sharing this recipe! I really appreciate it
I made these (but with walnuts) and I wonder, why do you have the ingredients mixed in the order you have chosen? I would have whipped the sugar with the bean puree, mixed in the other liquids, and then added the dry mixture and stirred to combine. The brownies weren't bad at all — I couldn't taste the beans in them, they were rich and moist — but they seemed more like a piece of chocolate cake rather than fudgy on the inside, crispy on the outside like a great brownie.
This was the first recipe I've tried from your site and these brownies are AWESOME! I used walnuts instead of hazelnts (just because of the price at my grocery store) but these little morsels of goodness were fudgy and delicious and you would never know they were made with beans!
Thanks for sharing!
Made these brownies for a trip this past weekend. They are fantastic. Used a little less sugar and used a really dark cocoa from Holland. Will definitely make these again.
I made these today, and I love how simple they are. I was worried they'd be too sweet with all that sugar, but they really weren't at all. Thanks for the recipe!
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I can't even begin to tell how delicious those brownies look. I love recipes with pictures, because they give me that extra bit of motivation I need to start baking
Thanks!
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